Finally, Serbia made the news for something positive - nothing about the wars, Kosovo, The Hague tribunal, or anything of the sort. A Serbian mining company discovered a mineral that was unlike anything they had seen. When the Natural History Museum and Canadian Natural Research Council analyzed the material and found out the composition, supposedly the team "Googled" sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide and found that it was mentioned - in a very unlikely place. In the 2006 movie Superman Returns, the villain Lex Luthor steals kryptonite from a museum in a box marked "sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide with fluoride". Unlike the kryptonite in the movie which is crystal-like, green, and harmful, the version found in Serbia is a perfectly harmless white powder. The mineral which is formally named Jadarite (it can't be called Kryptonite since it has nothing to do with Krypton), will be on display at London's Natural History Museum.
On a slightly similar note...
While on a crowded Belgrade bus yesterday, I noticed a young woman wearing a t-shirt with the "S" logo of Superman, followed by the letters forming the word Serbian. How fitting, I thought. Here is a country that is deeply proud of its heritage and is willing to stand its ground, even if it means defying the "big guys".
Now it's time for the country to shake off its "villain" status and start being noticed by the world for its history, natural beauty, and warm people.
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